DiCaprio, Chinese businessmen among world's top artcollectors

WASHINGTON. KAZINFORM - American actor Leonardo DiCaprio, China's media mogul Wang Zhongjun and real estatebusinessman Wang Jianlin were among the world's top art collectors in 2015, according to areport released by ARTnews magazine on July 7.

This is the first time the Oscar-nominated actor was included in the New York publication's annual200 list. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, hedge fund tycoon Steve A. Cohen and billionaire EliBroad were also on the list. DiCaprio has been an ardent collector of contemporary art as well as comics, rare books andfossils. "One of his first major purchases was a Basquiat drawing," the magazine said. Over theyears, The Wolf of Wall Street actor has purchased renowned works by Picasso, AndreasGursky, Takashi Murakami, Ed Ruscha, Elizabeth Peyton, Sara Lucas and others. The actor has not talked publicly about his private collection, but according to a number of artblogs that keep track of his purchases, DiCaprio's latest acquisition is a sci-fi painting,Nachlass, by Brooklyn-based artist Jean-Pierre Roy, this year. The actor has been active in the art sector in Los Angeles, where he was born. He has co-chaired the annual Art + Film Gala with the LA County Museum of Art and also agreed to donatea work by artist John Garrard to the museum. In 2013, DiCaprio's foundation teamed up withChristie's to organize an environmental charity art auction, which brought in $38.8 million in funds. Source: Chinadaily.com.cn